


Riding Out the Waves

by gale4ardy



Category: Be More Chill - Iconis/Tracz
Genre: Be More Chill - Freeform, F/F, M/M, Maybe - Freeform, Multi, Other, Somewhat smut??, The Squip is also kind of an asshole, Trans Michael Mell, also plot points, also rich and michael are the best bros but they aint gay for each other, also very much possibility for gore, bcs I'm extra like that, bmc, idk - Freeform, idk what else to tag this as, jeremy here is a furry but in a literal sense, mermaid au, slow burn Jeremy Heere/Michael Mell, we'll see
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-05
Updated: 2019-05-12
Packaged: 2019-05-18 09:47:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 9
Words: 11,916
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14850449
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gale4ardy/pseuds/gale4ardy
Summary: Michael Mell is a normal adult human. Local beach guy, minds his own business. Has a lot of acquantances on the island, with a small group of close friends he occasionally invites over. His life changes, though, when he discovers something about the local legend passed around.





	1. Game Night Pt. 1

Michael let out a groan as he heard his alarm clock go off. He rubbed his face and hit the button. 

It was far too early to get up, but the sunlight dancing on the water had other things to say. He sat up, threw on his hoodie, even though it was way too hot for that kind of weather, and headed out of his house. Michael jumped for his car and switched on the radio, driving along to the music drifting through the speakers. He hummed along, knowing this song by heart as well as many others. What could he say? The man was a sucker for Bob Marley. He pulled into the 7-11 parking lot and clocked in. “About time!" He heard a female voice from behind the counter. 

Michael looked up to see his co-worker, Chloe Valentine, leaning on the counter with their old friend, the fan, doing its job. “How the hell can you be wearing that thing in this weather?” she stared at him. “It’s, like, 1000 degrees out there!” “I hadn’t noticed.” Michael rolled his eyes, grabbing a cup and pouring himself a slushy. “You know that’s gonna be coming out of your paycheck, right?” She eyed him, not moving whatsoever. “I’d rather lose money than die from overheating. Plus, he doesn’t have to know.” Michael took his finger off the button and reached for a lid. “Just take off your damn hoodie then!” Chloe exclaimed. “Bite me.” Michael snapped back.

“Hell no.” Chloe scoffed. “You’d taste horrible.” “Hey, I shower once every week!” Michael propped his feet on the counter and took a sip from the straw. “Standing outside in the rain and ocean with a bottle of conditioner doesn’t count as a shower, Michael!” “That happened only one time!” Michael defended himself. “Yeah, and you ended up in the hospital with pneumonia!” Chloe lay her cheek on the counter. Michael couldn’t think of anything to say to that, so he just ended up drinking more of the slushy.

“Are we still on for Mario Party at Jake’s?” He asked. “As far as I know.” Chloe shrugged. "Honestly, I think he just wanted to ask Rich over but chickened out and invited everyone else as well.” Michael shook his head. “Alas, poor man. Can’t even ask his crush out properly.” The word hypocrite rang in his head after uttering that sentence, and he just took another sip from his slushy. The day dragged on, people coming in and out, taking and buying, and Chloe leaving because her shift was over. Michael eyed the clock and once it hit 7:30, he leaped from behind the counter and raced out the door. 

He hurried to his car, passing another co-worker of his, before anyone else could happen by. Michael headed for the grocery store first, intent on picking up some banana chips. Why? He honestly didn’t know. The damn things tasted so good, yet so horrible at the same time. Call him a masochist. Michael headed out of the store and was greeted by something he hated the most. “Hey, baby girl! Come here often?” Ugh. Michael felt his ears burn, but stayed on course for his car. “Hey! Hey!! I’m talking to you.”

Michael closed his door just in time to shield himself from a loud crack. He let out a yelp and covered his head. He looked up and saw that his driver window had a very large crack in it. It was almost a miracle the whole thing hadn’t shattered. Whatever had caused it, he wasn’t about to stick around to see what it was, and drove off. 

He tried to calm down and prevent himself from having a panic attack, to little avail. Once he was at Jake’s house, Michael pulled over and lay his arms and head on the wheel, taking slow, deep breaths. In…out…in…out…he had worked out his breathing and calmed himself down…until his phone rang. At full volume. Michael nearly had another panic attack, tried to calm himself down, and looked at his phone. Rich. His best friend. The guy he had known for 12+ years. He sighed and answered. “H-Hello?” he wheezed. “Dude, are you okay? You sound like a broken stove burner.” Rich’s voice came through on the other end. Michael’s head swam. 

“U-Uh… yeah, I’m good I just, uh…I need…I need a minute.” “…do you need me to come down there?” Rich offered. “Please.” Michael tried to focus on his breathing again when he heard a slight tap on the window. 

He looked up to see Rich hunched over, concern written on his face. Michael opened the car door. 

“Dude, what happened to your car?” was the first thing Rich asked. 

Michael’s mind went completely blank as he tried to find an excuse. “U-Uh…there was…an uh…uh…um…” “You don’t have to say if you don’t want to.” Rich held his hand out. Michael took it. “Thanks, man.” The instant he stood up, though, he stumbled. The entire world buzzed around him and he felt like he was gonna hurl. “Oh, God-“ He slapped a hand over his mouth. “Take it easy, Mell.” Rich had one of his hand gripped around Michael’s and the other rubbing his back. 

Michael leaned against his car, red in the face and sweaty. Definitely one of his less flattering moments. After a minute or two of suppressing the urge to vomit, Michael gained back his ability to breath and put up a thumbs-up. “You sure?” The smaller man hadn’t taken his eyes off of him. Michael had a good friend. He nodded. “All right. You want me to help you inside?” Another nod. They took one step, then another, until they had managed to reach the door. 

When they went inside, all the lights were turned off except for one room, where all the noise seemed to be coming from. “Hey,” Michael weakly raised his hand in the air, notifying the others of their presence. Jenna was the first to notice his state. “Woah, Mell, what happened to you?” “You look like you almost got run over. Are you doing okay?” Jake chimed in. Michael nodded, letting Rich awkwardly guide him to where he could sit. “Yeah, I’m good.” he managed out. “Take a breather, tall-ass.” Rich comforted him, patting him on the back.

Michael wiped at his mouth and eyed him. “I don’t like that nickname.” “It fits you.” Rich lamely excused himself. 

Michael just let out a scoff and leaned against the wall. “All right, we ready to start playing?” Jake sat up, holding his Wii remote. “Hell yeah!!” Brooke threw her hands in the air, leaning against Chloe. “Anybody else up for it?” Jake looked around behind him. “I am!” Christine grabbed a black Wii Remote. “Still need one more, guys!” Then, seemingly out of nowhere, Rich exclaimed:

“Michael would LOVE to play!”

Michael gave him a dirty look. “Nah, still kind of out of it. Besides, I think you’d be better than I would.” When Rich regarded him with a confused look, Michael pulled him in closer. “Don’t you wanna impress Jake?” he muttered. “What, by beating his ass at Mario Party?” Rich muttered back, realization dawning on his face. “…fine.” 

“You can beat his actual ass later~.” Michael whispered, a sly grin appearing on his face. Rich glared at him, red in the face. “You playing or no, Rich?” Jake called one last time. “Yeah, yeah, I’m coming.” Rich didn’t take his furious eyes off of Michael until he was finished with his sentence. “You can say that later, too~.” Michael murmured, just quiet enough for Rich to hear, but not loud enough for anyone else. “Lithen, athole!” Rich whipped around, his blush spreading to his ears as Michael let out a cackle. “You may have jutht had a panic attack, but that doethn’t mean I can’t beat your ath!” “That’s exactly what it means.” Michael wiped away a tear.

“Just fuck already.” Chloe rolled her eyes. Michael shot her a look that said ‘Who do you take me for?’. “Not in a million years.” Rich had his back turned to both of them. “Yeah, besides, we all know Rich has his eyes on someone else.” “Really?? Who?” Jake turned to Rich, who’s entire face was beet red, for an answer. Everyone else silently shook their heads. 

They all loved Jake, but he could be so oblivious at times. This was one of those times.

“Can we jutht get on with the game already?!” Rich pleaded, eyes squeezing shut and his blush spreading across his scars and to his neck.


	2. Game Night Pt.2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Game Night continues and develops itself into story time. Michael spots a thing as well. Wonder what it could be?

“Michael, you cannot honestly expect us to believe a hoard of pelicans descended from the sky and attacked that one single window of your entire car.” Christine leaned against Jake’s couch, arms crossed, looking very unimpressed. Michael had taken the bowl of chips hostage and stared right back at her. “Yeah, well, that’s what happened.” “No, it’s not.” Christine’s expression didn’t change and it was starting to scare Michael a little. 

“You might as well just spill, Michael.” Brooke had taken a pretzel stick and was sticking a bunch of marshmallows on it. “You can’t hide anything from her. Trust me, I’ve tried.” “Thanks for the support, Brooke.” Michael was still leaned up against the wall, but had his gaze turned away from the Mom friend. “Anytime.” Brooke snuggled against Chloe, who had her arms wrapped around her and half her face buried in her hair. “Spill, Michael. What really happened?” Christine’s gaze had taken a more serious turn.

Michael continued to look away, and almost got off scot-free, but caved in. “All right, all right! There was some guy at the grocery store and he was catcalling me, it’s not a big deal!” He stuffed his face with more chips. “That still doesn’t explain the giant crack in your driver’s window.” Chloe had removed her face from Brooke’s hair so she could properly speak. There was silence, and then Jenna spoke up. “Did he throw a rock at you??” Michael paused. He thought about it. He hadn’t seen the dude pick up the rock.

But then again…"That would explain a lot…” “Christ, Michael, did he hurt you?” Rich reached his hands out towards Michael for comfort. He may have been fine on the surface, but Michael had known him long enough that he was probably really angry. “Nah, Rich. Just spooked me is all.” Michael gently set Rich’s hands down. “‘Spooked’ is not the right word I’d apply to this situation.” Rich grumbled. “Was it the same guy as last time?” Jenna leaned forward, completely interested as to who this guy was. Michael shrugged.

“I dunno, I didn’t bother looking at his stupid face, and I couldn’t recognize his voice, but it probably was.” 

“Why haven’t you filed a report against him yet?” Chloe had taken her arms off of Brooke and had them crossed. “You know how the police are nowadays.” Michael ran his hand through his hair. “Probably just blow me off.” “Have you even tried?” Christine sat next to him, arms resting on top of her knees. “U-Uh…” Michael hesitated. “Well. No, but—“ “No, buts, Michael! You have to tell someone about this; this has been going on for too long!” Christine interrupted, pressing her finger against Michael’s lips. “Christine’s right.” Brooke had pulled away from Chloe and was kneeling in front of him. “This shit is past the point of reportable.” “B-But—“ Michael started again. “Butts are for sitting, not stalling, Michael Mell.” Brooke cut in, earning a small ripple of laughter from the group.

“You guys are the best, you know that?” Michael chuckled, wiping his eyes. “Of course, dude! We all help each other. That’s what family’s for.” Rich smiled. Family. Michael liked that word. His smile grew even wider as the seven of them joined in a group hug. “Hey, here’s an idea.” Chloe suggested.

"Why don’t we pass around some old wives’ tales we heard when we were kids? You know, to kill time and chill.” “That’s…actually not a bad idea, Chlo.” Jenna leaned back. “Michael, you can go first.” Brooke turned to him. Surprised had plastered itself on Michael’s face. “W-What-me?” “No, the other boy in the red hoodie.” Christine stated flatly. “Of course she’s talking about you.” “Har-dee-har-har.” Michael mock glared at her through his lenses. “All right, this one’s really old. Goes back to the old, old days.” 

He cleared his throat. “‘You may think you know everything there is to know in the ocean. But, of course, you’d think yourself wrong, as humans think they know everything, being the ‘superior race’ and all.’

'They know not of our ancient civilization that lurks, hidden from view. We are mermen. We knew not much of humans, as we kept to ourselves, hidden under our blanket of water. But we have occasionally breached once or twice to discover what exactly was on land.’

'Only humans. The disgusting pigs think so highly of themselves they take no notice of the world around them, destroying it only for their own benefit. It is…concerning to say the least. I digress. You did not come to hear me ramble.’

'We eventually decided to make contact with these foul creatures. Our biggest mistake, unbeknownst to any of us. They were friendlier than they let on at the time, and we had come to an agreement that each were granted access to tread on the other’s land, so long as they took what was the allowed limit. Of course, that did not last long.’

'One of our own had taken more than she was allowed: she had captured the heart of one of the humans’ women. Their names need not have value, why should we remember the aliases of those who had doomed and betrayed us? They had been discovered conversing in secret, their bodies intertwined. They refused to part with each other, shunning their kingdoms. This was unheard of from either side, and one was forcefully hanged as the other witnessed.’

'This had made her angry, as her grief overtook her from the loss of her beloved. She was easily taken down, as she were outnumbered. But this was not over. The two races had declared war on the other.’

'In the end, neither side won, and each returned to their own, homeward bound, and forever closing off our bonds tighter than broken rope. The humans resided on land, and our kind was damned to the ocean. As a result of the war, our numbers began to decline rapidly. Even now, we are not as bountiful as we used to be. Oh, yes, there were many more of us way back when. Should any of you tear the water’s fabric, never approach a human being, lest they should find and kill you on sight.’” 

Michael was done, realizing his eyes had been closed, because when he opened them, everyone was staring, completely entranced. 

“Uh…” Michael’s eyes darted around the room. “Did…did you guys like it?” “Did we like it?” Jenna echoed. “That was awesome!”

“You knew the entire thing by heart?” Christine had her eyes wide opened, dazzled. “Yeah, it’s a story my Nanay told me every night.” Michael scratched the back of his head, a bit embarrassed. “It was my favorite.” “Shit, dude!” Jake scoffed. “We should have let you go last! None of my stories are gonna even compare to what you just told us!” 

“Yeah, man, you blew us out of the water!” Rich chimed in, slumped over Jake’s shoulders. “No one’s gonna beat that!” Michael’s face flushed at the praise he was receiving. “Geez, guys…thanks!” After a night of sharing stories, each one greater than the last, they all decided to return to their homes, Rich staying at Jake's request. Michael pulled up into his driveway, grabbing his banana chips and gracefully danced on the sand towards his favorite outlook. He headed for his favorite outlook, a giant boulder planted on the border between the land and the sea, and sat down. He watched the moonlight’s rays dance on the black ocean, lighting up the waves with a harsh white glow. 

Michael hummed as he leaned back and let the cool, night breeze brush its fingers through his hair and over his skin. He listened to the sound of water softly pressing itself against the rocks, cling on, recede and repeat. He let the pattern soak into his brain, and instantly felt at ease. He let a familiar song play in his head, too chilled out to hum along. He might have fallen asleep like this. He couldn’t, because sleeping on a rock wasn’t exactly ideal, but he would have. Before he could move from his spot, he saw the familiar shape of a dolphin slightly hop out of the water. 

One detail caught Michael’s attention, though, even if it was dark out. From what the moonlight had shown him, that dolphin was missing one important thing. It was something that most sea creatures without legs or arms had. Something that helped them to steer and navigate in the water, and Michael had no clue on Earth how he had spotted something so minor when he couldn’t even see two feet in front of him, even with his glasses on. He was at full attention now with the realization dawning on him. The one thing the peculiar dolphin he had spotted was missing…was its dorsal fin.


	3. Close Encounters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Michael meets someone new. Rich judges him.

Michael realized he must have fallen asleep, because when he opened his eyes, the landscape was still dark, but the sky betrayed the fact that it was just before dawn. He stretched, trying to ignore the fact that his back was aching and looked over at his box of banana chips. It was half empty. Which was suspicious to Michael, considering he hadn’t touched any of them. Well, until now, that is. He popped one into his mouth, turning his gaze to the sky. Had someone eaten them while he was sleeping? 

Was it right after he fell asleep, or right before he was about to wake up? 

He looked at the box again, noting the water droplets around it. So, this was recent. Hm. And it came from the water, judging by their positions. Michael’s thoughts dragged him back to last night, and the story he told his friends. It couldn’t be. They weren’t real.

…were they?

Michael was gonna be honest with himself: He would look like a total madman doing this, but he didn’t care. He didn’t have to clock into work yet anyway. He started up his white PT Cruiser and took off. He came back with at least three boxes of banana chips, remembering the look he got from one of the cashiers. He was experimenting with banana chips, sue him. He popped the lid open, set it on his lookout, and left. He came back the following night to find, yep, the box empty. 

Thankfully, Michael didn’t have to go into work tomorrow, so he took the box back and replaced it with a full one. Instead of leaving it by itself in the open, though, he hid behind some giant ferns and waited…and waited…and waited…and nothing was happening. He had been sitting here for what felt like hours and he was getting frustrated. How long had it been anyway? He checked his phone.

5 minutes.

Michael wanted to pull his hair out, how could he have only been here for five minutes?! “Uhh, Michael?” Michael let out a yelp of surprise and looked up. Rich was standing over him with a confused look on his face. “What…are you doiNG?!” Rich squealed as he was yanked to the ground. Before he could yell at Michael, he got a hand slapped over his mouth. He stared up at him, bewildered. “Be quiet, man!” Michael harshly whispered, releasing him and turning his gaze back to the box. 

“What…” Rich huffed, getting his breath back. “Michael, what the—“ “SSHH!!” Michael hushed him again, and Rich threw his hands up in a defensive manner. “What are you doing??” He whispered. 

“Okay, so you remember game night on Tuesday, right?” Michael started. “What does that have to do with any of…” Rich wildly gestured to the entire beach as well as Michael. “…this??” 

“I fell asleep on that rock over there with a box of banana chips. The entire thing was full when I konked out. But when I woke up, it was half-empty.” Michael explained.

"It didn’t come from anything on land, and unless I’m to assume seals can discretely steal food without waking me up-…would you stop looking at me like that?” Michael paused mid-ramble to glare at Rich. “What other way am I supposed to look at you?” Rich defended himself. “Dude, you’re starting to sound like one of those documentary people who think they’ve found the lost city of Atlantis. Are you sure some seagull didn’t just swoop down and eat some?” Michael gave him a flat look. “Dude. Since when have seagulls ever been courteous enough to eat only half a box? Or even just leave it there?” Rich shrugged. 

“Could have been too heavy.” “No way. I’ve seen those fuckers fly off with ice cream cones, Rich.” Michael argued. “Whatever.” Rich stood up. “Have fun with your stakeout. I actually have work tomorrow.” “Later.” Michael kept his gaze fixed on the spot. The day turned to noon, noon turned to sunset, and sunset turned to night. Michael was starting to think he was wasting his time.

He was awoken by the sound of splashing. There was…holy shit, there was something there. He slowly crept forward, as silently as the sand would allow. When he got closer, he had to make sure he wasn’t just seeing things. In front of him sat a human…with a dolphin tail instead of legs. Michael remembered the missing dorsal fin from last night…or was it two nights ago now? Since it was dawn, it was probably the latter. The creature noticed he was there when he looked up and made eye contact. The…the mermaid…merman…whatever, had light brown hair, with freckles sprinkled all over his face and shoulders. 

He had bright blue eyes and fins on either side of his head which could only be assumed to be substitution for ears. Michael hadn’t realized he was staring until he snapped himself out of it. “U-Uh…” This seemed to break the man…boy?…mermaid out of his trance as well and he started retreating to the water. “No, no, no, wait, don’t go!” Michael reached his hand out. He paused and turned back to him. “I-I…uh…”

Michael was suddenly nervous. “I’m not…gonna hurt you or anything, honest.” The mermaid stared at the box in his arms and held it defensively to his chest. “Oh! You can have those, I wasn’t planning on eating them, anyway.” The mermaid relaxed and continued eating. “I’ve never uh…I didn’t know you guys were uh…” Don’t say real, don’t say real, don’t say real. “…still around.” Good enough.

The mermaid stared up at him curiously and twitched one of his fin-like ears. “Um, you got a name?” Michael ventured. The mermaid was silent for a moment, before letting out a high-pitched whistle, surprising him. “Right. Mermaid. Hindi ka nagsasalita ng ingles.” Michael muttered to himself. That made the other tilt his head in confusion. 

“Well, I can at least introduce myself. My name is Michael. Miii-khol. Can you try to say that at least?” The mermaid stared down at the rocks momentarily before giving it a shot. “Mmm…mmmrrrrrr…Mrrrrrrrkk…rrr.” The mermaid was starting to get frustrated at his own failed attempts, but Michael couldn’t help but find them extremely endearing. “Ok, ok, ok. Say my. Myyyyy…” “Mmmm…mrrrrrrr…mmrrrrrRRRR!!” The boy let out an irritated screech, nearly dropping his snack. “Hey, it’s okay. I, for one, know how irritating it is to learn another language.” Michael sympathized. 

He grimaced, remembering weeks upon weeks of studying English it took just to say one word. “Well, let’s start off with something sim—“ “Mrrr!!” The mermaid refused, even though he was clearly struggling. “You…wanna keep trying?” He nodded. “All right…” Michael sighed, but didn't bother stopping him. “Mrrrrrr…mrrriii…Mrrriiirrr…kl…Mrriiiirrrrkle…Mrriirrkle. Mrrirrkle!”

The mermaid successfully chirped, unaware of Michael’s reddened face. Today was going to be very, very interesting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://sta.sh/020orutuno9z  
> FOR ANY OF YALL WONDERIN WHAT HE LOOKS LIKE HERE TAKE HIM
> 
> ALSO IF MY IGNORANT WHITE ASS HAS MADE ANY MISTAKES WHEN IT COMES TO THE TAGALOG SPEAKING PLEASE CORRECT ME I WISH TO NOT LOOK LIKE A FOOL AND MAYBE ACTUALLY LEARN A BIT  
> THANKS FOR COMING TO MY TED TALK


	4. An Average Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> WE *CLAP* NEED *CLAP* MORE *CLAP* SUPPORTIVE *CLAP* MR *CLAP* HEERE

The mermaid sped through the water, giddy and gleeful. He passed various fish and other sealife surrounding him. He couldn’t believe it. 

He finally talked to him. He finally talked to him! His name was Michael. He liked that name. He dove for the sandy bottom of the ocean, in a place where hopefully no one would see him. …heh. Sea him. Nonetheless, he cupped his face in his hands and let a few bubbles escape his mouth. He couldn’t help feeling like this, he just couldn’t!! He felt lucky that no one else would find him here, gushing like this. Over a human, no less! What would his father say? Well, his father wouldn’t be against it, per say. It would be more like he’d never hear the end of it. But he finally got to speak with him. Well, he used the term “speak” loosely. It was more of a lesson. But, he was still cuter in person! 

He had been listening to him singing on the shoreline for a while now. He had seen him, but not very clearly, as he’d had to hide from Michael’s view to make sure he wasn’t seen. He’d be lying if he said he hadn’t tried human speech only from listening to him sing. It was mostly singing, as he didn’t talk to himself very often, which was extremely frustrating. He resisted the urge to breach out of the water, not wanting to risk being sighted by any other humans. Instead, he only sighed to himself and swam home. Or, what they could call home at least. It was more-so a cluster of rocks nearby a coral reef. He pretty much slid inside, not even bothering to swim. He looked up to see a familiar face hovering above him. 

“Hey, little lion fish.” His father greeted. “Hello~.” He lazily chirped back in response, completely blissed out. “You go to watch that boy again?” He asked. The mermaid immediately sprung up. “I-I wasn’t watching him! I couldn’t even see him! Isn’t that, like, really creepy, anyway?”

“I’m only teasing, son.” His father chuckled. “…I did actually talk to him.” That caught his attention. “Oh?” “Well, it wasn’t really talking.” He twitched an ear fin. “It was more he was trying to get me to understand human speech? Which was sort of easy.” 

“Was it now? What words did you learn?” His father lay next to him, head resting on his arms. “It was mostly sentences, actually. He’s really nice and funny, too! He always has these weird things on his face covering his eyes. What do you think they’re called?” The mermaid turned to him, a ghost of a grin on his face. “Why don’t you ask him next time you see him?” He lazily clicked, not taking his eyes off of his son for a second. “…you know, I think I will!” And so the dawn dragged on, listening to him talk and ramble about his newfound friend. 

Eventually, he had to stop, because, spoiler alert, mermaids actually need to eat. The pair headed out, swimming for quite a while before happening upon a large school of fish. The younger turned to his head to the left. The older followed his gaze. He spotted the problem: a rival pod of dolphins were eyeing the school as well. They made eye contact. This was new. After a few moments of silence, both groups dove into the school, causing them to scatter. Catching the fish was easier said then done. 

The mermaids had barely gotten enough to eat, which was extremely frustrating to say the least. The younger watched them swim away, ear fins twitching like wild. “Hey, don’t worry about it.” The older rested his hand on his shoulder. “There’s always other food we could find.” Neither of them believed what he said. They were lucky they even found a school that big. 

The ocean may have been vast, and bountiful in food, but when it came to actually eating anything, it was anything but easy. Either way, the younger just murmured in agreement, and they swam on. They didn’t get far, though, as the older stopped short. This time, it was the younger’s turn to follow his father’s gaze. Not too far off, they spotted a shark swimming in the distance. All alone, as most sharks are. He felt his pupils dilate, and his fins perked up. Both of them were completely focused on their prey. Seems it wouldn’t be too heinous a day after all.

——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————--

His son was asleep in the deeper reaches of the rock clutch. He was near the entrance, deep in thought. It was pretty obvious, their species was dead. 

They were the only two left, and unless there was some hidden mermaid tribe out there by some miracle or his son was suddenly interested in a girl, then yeah, they were pretty much dead. He let out a sigh, and his gaze drifted from the ocean ceiling to his son, who was still sleeping peacefully.

He twitched an ear fin. He would have to meet this Michael in person. But, not yet. He would have to see if this was simply just some phase, or if it really was a strong bond. Either way, they were going to die, but he had no idea how long either of them had left. His son, obviously, had a long, long life ahead of him. He, however, had no idea. Someone his age could probably kick the bucket at any point from any serious wounds, even though he looked plenty fit. He sighed, and simply lay his head on his arms, and drifted off to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HHHHH I AM!!!! EXTREMELY SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG TO GET OUT!!! THIS IS A FILLER CHAPTER MORE THAN ANYTHING AND ITS NOT EVEN A GOOD ONE HHHHHHHHH I APOLOGIZE
> 
> ALSO TY TO EVERYONE WHO DREW ME FANART!!!!!!! I LOVE ALL OF IT!!! <3 <3 <3
> 
> also yea they ate a shark  
> just a thing mermaids do yanno


	5. Reality Check

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TW: Lil bit of body disphoria at the beginning, but it shouldn't be too bad!!
> 
> \-------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> Michael hates his life, the mermaid gets a name, and Rich is a good friend pt. 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i think this is my longest chapter yet holy hot damn  
> also my writing sucks in the beginning but it gets better at the end i swe ar

The familiar jiggle of the doorknob echoed throughout the house as an extremely exhausted Michael stumbled in. His hand ran over his face as he leaned against the wall, exhaustion completely swamping over him. 

He hated coming home like this, where all he wanted to do was just lie on his bed and not exist for a few hours, which didn’t honestly sound too bad. But it wasn’t the “Oh-sweet-sleep-my-one-true-love-come-take-me-away-from-this-shithole-of-a-reality-as-long-as-you-can” kind of wanting to sleep. 

It was more of a “Sweet-fucking-jesus-come-take-me-now-and-hide-my-ugly-ass-corpse-from-everyone’s-memories-so-they’ll-leave-me-alone-and-never-talk-to-me-again” kind of wanting to sleep.

His gaze shifted to his window and he remembered. The mermaid friend. His hands dragged down his face as he inwardly groaned.

He loved the boy…in a completely platonic way…he really did, but he didn’t really feel like hanging out with him today. Michael could have just left him a letter. But then remembered he probably couldn’t read. “Ffffffffuuuuuuuuuuckkkkkk…” He cringed in surprise at how feminine his voice sounded , and realized that the drug had worn off. He also remembered he was out of T. “FFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUCCCCCCCCCCKKKK!!” Michael flopped down on his couch, completely in the mood to die right now. This was a heinous night. 

He felt so unbelievably frustrated with himself and his body, which decided now was the perfect time to remind him that it was basically suffocating, thanks, asshole. Michael, the biggest fool on the planet, in absence of his T, had decided to not remove his binder, which he knew was an awful idea, but he didn’t really care enough to take it off. 

Those cursed human milk cartons were the last thing he wanted to see, thank you very much. Michael shifted himself so that he was lying on the couch more comfortably. The mermaid came to his mind again, as well as guilt. He felt bad for him, if he was just leaving him out there all by himself, blissfully unaware. He sat up and focused on the spot where they usually met. No mermaid. Huh. That worked fine for him. He could barely work up the motivation to even move from the couch. 

Michael was also reminded that he was probably gonna need another job to even support his already tiny-ass house, but could barely keep the one he already had. That didn’t even count food, bills, his motherfucking T…why hadn’t he just gotten a new job already? …he didn’t want to think about this. He wanted to do nothing but be unconscious right now. Suck it up, Mell. He murmured to himself, but it was so soft he couldn’t tell if he actually said it or not. He didn’t care. He wanted to sleep. So, sleep he did.

——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Michael woke up the next afternoon, not really wanting to feel alive right now, but he figured there was no point in lounging around. He didn’t really feel like going into work today, even though he knew it was imperative. Instead, he just tugged on his hoodie and headed out to his usual meeting spot, flopping lazily on to the rock. He realized he must have fallen asleep, because he looked up and saw the boy peering over at him curiously.

“Well, how do you do, pardner?” Michael lazily greeted him. The mermaid startled back a bit, somewhat concerned, and tried repeating after him. “H-how...do y-y’do…pppaaarrdner?” Fuck. That was cute. That was really, really cute. 

“Not bad. It’s just some outdated greeting, though. You don’t have to use it all the time." The mermaid nodded in understanding. “U-Um…sss…whas…rong wif yer...uhh…” “…with myyy?” Michael raised an eyebrow. He could have been talking about a number of things, and Michael shoved one particularly vulgar thought to the back of his head. Not today, gay thoughts. Not today. The mermaid pointed to his own throat. 

Son of a bitch, Michael silently swore. He noticed. “Oh, that’s just…something my voice does from time to time, no biggie!” Seeming convinced, the mermaid lay down next to him. “Whas these?” He pointed to Michael’s glasses. “Oh. These? They aren’t anything special, really, just my glasses.” “Glasshes?” “Mhm! My glasses. They help me see half of the time.” There was a moment of silence. “Can I see?” The mermaid asked. “Oh, yeah, sure!” Michael removed the glasses from his face and set them on his friends’s. “Look good?” He heard. 

He honest to God couldn’t see a damn thing so he just said, “Yeah, you look great, buddy.” He felt sort-of relieved when he got them back, mostly because, praise Jesus, hallelujah, he could see again. In that moment, he realized something. “Do you…have a name?” “Na-aame?” He mimicked the word back. “Yeah! Like how my name is Michael! What’s yours?” The mermaid was silent for a moment, picking at the rock beneath them and finding far more interesting than this conversation. Michael realized he already asked this, but continued anyway. “No name, huh? Hm. You want me to give you one?” The mermaid looked up at him and nodded.

“Okay! Um…let’s see. Stop me at the one you like.” Michael listed all the names he knew off the top of his head. “George, Alexander, Mason, Ferdinand…uh…Jeremy…” The mermaid perked up at that one. Michael noticed and looked over at him. “Jeremy? You like that one?” “Jjjerrremy~!” Michael chuckled at that, feeling a little…well, actually no, a lot breathless, and he was getting sharp pangs of pain, like he was being repeatedly stabbed in the same spot, but ignored it. “Michael!” He heard a distant voice call him. Rich. Shit. 

He hurriedly turned to the newly named Jeremy, but he was already gone. Good enough. 

Michael slid off the rock he was perched on and met Rich halfway. “Hey, dude!” Rich greeted, in his normal spunky tone. “I thought I’d pop on over for a visit and…are you okay?” 

“YeAh! Perfectly fine!” Michael half-grinned/half-grimaced, and tried to pass off him clutching his side as him crossing his arms.

He also tried to moderate his voice by trying to make it sound like he had a voice crack out of nowhere. Apparently, it wasn’t all that convincing. He also apparently was really easy to read, because the next thing Rich asked was “Michael, have you taken off your binder recently?” 

Michael stiffened, which was an obvious ‘no.’ “Yes?” “Michael.” Rich crossed his arms as well. “No.” Michael gave up trying to moderate his voice, because as manly as he wanted to sound, it was painful trying to do so. “Dude! You know that’s not good for you.” Rich fretted, his hands hovering over Michael’s shoulders. Michael rubbed his eyes, causing his glasses to move up to his forehead. He didn’t want to deal with this right now. In fact, this was the last thing he wanted. To both men’s surprise, Michael started sporting some tears. 

“Michael? Are you okay?” Rich’s eyebrows knitted together in concern. “I…I don’t know…” Michael whispered, sniffling.

Whispered. Sniffled. Whistled. Wait, no, that’s an actual thing. Sniffpered? Yeah, sniffpered. “Okay, bud. Why don’t we go inside? We can chill and talk and do whatever you want. Sound good?” Rich offered. Michael just nodded and sniffled again as he was led towards the house.

He turned his head to check if Jeremy had moved back to his spot. He hadn’t but Michael noticed him trailing them as they moved, trying to stay hidden, which turned out to be difficult when you were a big fucking fish with half of a human body. Crazy how that works, isn’t it? A few more tears slipped underneath Michael’s glasses (these ones had a bit of regret behind them) as he whispered a ‘Sorry’ to the boy. He tried to keep his eyes on him a bit longer before they had to go inside. “What the hell ith that?!” Rich exclaimed, scaring Michael half to death. “What?! What?! What is it?!” His eyes darted around. “There wath thomething in the water!” He responded, a panicked look in his eye. 

Michael felt his stomach drop as he whipped his head back towards the ocean. Nothing. No sign that there was anything there. 

Relief washed through him. He was safe. He wiped his eyes, but kept his focus on the vast, blue blanket. “I-I don’t see anyth-thing there.” He tearfully protested. Rich, however, wasn’t entirely convinced. He knew he saw something. It looked like a person! And Michael was looking directly at the ocean, so he must have seen it, too! Then again, Michael was crying, so his vision probably sucked ass at the moment. He wouldn’t let this go entirely, but he would drop it for the time being. “Maybe I was just seeing things. Sorry for scaring you.” he apologized. “I-It’s fine.” Michael stuttered. One day, Rich. he thought. You’ll meet him one day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THIS IS  
> LIKE UNEXCUSABLY LATE I AM SO SORRY  
> BUT I HAVE BEEN SEVERELY LACKING THE WILL TO WRITE EVEN THO I LOVE THIS FIC TO FUCKING DEATH YALL DONT UNDERSTAND  
> I HAVE LIKE TWO MORE BMC AUS THAT I WANT TO WORK ON YA'LL NEED TO STOP ME THIS IS MADNESS
> 
> also lowkey thinking of getting into detroit: become human but idk  
> also shoutout to my friend @ashwla for being a pure bean and keeping me entertained ily no homo


	6. Jeremy Misunderstands

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> title pretty much says everything

Jeremy, he guessed that was his name now, frustratedly frothed bubbles in the water as he saw Michael head inside with the other human. 

How dare he? They were having a perfectly good time, and he had to go and steal his human from him! How rude. Jeremy paused. ‘His human’? He hadn’t expected that to come up, especially from his own head. He shifted his focus back to the large structure that Michael and the human had disappeared into. He looked pretty upset when they vanished. Had Jeremy done something wrong? Oh, gosh, he hoped not. He should get something as an apology. Should he? He should. Should he? Should he. Shore he should. What. 

Jeremy snapped himself back from drifting off to whatever weird part of his brain he was dragging himself into. Get something for Michael, apologize for making him upset. Simple. In and out. Done and doner. …what do we get him. …huh. What exactly can you find in the sea that a human would find interesting? Well, might as well start searching. Jeremy dove back under the surface and began scavenging around.

-

Jeremy let out a frustrated noise, which just sounded like a dolphin having an aneurysm. He had been searching for hours and hours and hours on end, and he found absolutely nothing!! He glared around at anything available and something caught his eye that made his face soften. A gulley leading to the deeper parts of the ocean was just a few feet away. Couldn’t hurt to search down there. Jeremy shrugged and swam towards the thick band of blackness. He swam around, trying to ignore the uncomfortable pressure on his fins, and scoured the sand for anything that might look interesting. He would admit, it was kind of difficult to see down there, since it was dark and all, so he moved closer to the sand for clues.

The further he went the more he noticed that there were less and less neighbors swimming around. Pretty soon, Jeremy realized he was all by himself. His stomach started complaining that he should get out of this creepy place and go home. Well, shut up, stomach, you don’t know what’s best for me, Jeremy silently shot back. Another grumble. What an meaningful conversation! He paused as his hand grazed something…smooth? Jeremy turned around and began desperately searching for the thing he apparently found. His hand grazed the smooth texture again and his hand instantly gripped around it and was hoisted out of the sand. …what on Earth was this? 

Jeremy lightly brushed the small, gray object with his fingertips, fiddling with it for a while. He had no clue what this was. He had never seen anything like it. It could be potentially dangerous. That’s when Jeremy made the smartest and bestest decision in his entire life.

He ate the damn thing.

It didn’t really satisfy his hunger, but, oh, well. Now, where was he? Oh, right! A present for Michael!!…A present. For Michael. He could have given that to Michael. He made that noise for the second time that day, except it was just a tad more violent. Woe is Jeremy the Fool, who doesn’t think before he acts.

He just gave up right then and there, and decided he’d try his best with a verbal apology. There was no way he was gonna give Michael an extremely lame gift he didn’t want or need as an “I’m sorry”. That would be more of a “fuck you, but I’m not sorry”. Jeremy huffed, watching the bubbles float up before following them. Little did he know that when he would next see Michael, his whole, entire life would change for the worst. Forever.

-

“You went WHERE?!” Father screeched. Jeremy flinched back a bit. “W-Well, I-“ “Are you okay? Are you hurt? Do I need to take you somewhere?” He quickly checked him over. Jeremy batted his hand away. “Dad, I’m fine!” He chirped irritably. “I didn’t run into any trouble and there was nothing there anyway.” “‘Nothing there’? Were you looking for something?” Father tilted his head. “…well, my human friend, Michael, he, uh…he had to go somewhere, and I think I upset him so I went to go get something for him to apologize.” Jeremy explained. “And you found nothing?” “No.” said Jeremy, you know, like a liar. Father put his hand to his face, as if to say “oh, my god, I’m raising a fool.” and sighed.

”Well, at least, you’re safe. You can apologize to him tomorrow. Go to sleep.” Father curled up at the entrance, like always.

“But, it’s only sunset.” Jeremy objected.  
“I don’t make the rules, son.”   
“Yeah, you do!…father?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HERE YOU GO YALL LETS GET THIS SHIT ON THE ROAD  
> ITS REALLY SHORT AND IM SORRY BUT HE RE


	7. Meanwhile

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rich helps our local beach boi through a panic atacc

Michael flopped down onto the couch, feeling like utter hell. He listened as Rich milled around his house and turned his gaze up at the ceiling. It was physically detailed, like someone had gotten bored with painting and just decided to throw a bunch of paint brushes at the roof to see what would come out of it. Well…it was a ceiling, that was for sure. “Okay, first things first.” Rich sat down in front of him, interrupting his train of thought, which was extremely rude, GOD, Rich. “Off.” 

“W-What?” Michael lifted his head, not sure if he meant off as in “get off of the couch” or off as in something else. “You heard me. Take it off.” Rich stated as if it was extremely obvious as to what he was talking about. Michael continued to stare at him cluelessly. “Your binder.".” …oh. Michael had almost forgotten about it. He considered arguing, but didn’t really feel like it and decided against it. He muttered as he tucked his arms into his hoodie and shimmied out of his binder. His hoodie nearly followed suite, but he quickly tugged it down with a squeak that one might find endearing.

”How long did you have that thing on for, anyway?” Rich inquired. Michael remained silent. 

Rich’s face took on a neutral expression as he scooted closer. “Michael…” he gently pressed. 

“…three days.”

“Three day—“ He stuttered at the confession, his eyes blown wide open. He looked at Michael like he had just grown a second head. 

“Michael, I- holy shit, are you okay?” “No!” Michael forced the answer out, a little louder than he would have liked. He struggled to take a deep breath, and not make an embarrassment of himself in front of his best friend. 

“No, I…I’m not, I’m just. Fuck, Rich, I’m so fucking lost.” Michael’s voice began to waver. “I hate-I hate my fucking job so much even though I-I—“ Michael felt frustration bubble in him as his words vanished right before his eyes. He hated when that happened.

“I can’t hate it and I-I’m out of T and I wore my binder for three fucking d a y s because, shit, I thought it would work and—“ Michael forced himself to stop talking. He had already said enough and oh, fuck, he couldn’t breathe, fuck, no, nonono, this was it, this was it for him he was going to die he was going to die from not being able to breathe and Rich was going to leave him and everyone would forget about him or they would just remember—

“Michael!” Rich’s voice snapped him out of his delirium. 

“Slow down, Mike. 4 in, hold in 3, 5 out. Breathe in, 2…3…4, hold, 2…3, out, 2…3…4…5. That’s it, Michael, just keep your breathing steady with mine, you’re okay.” And so, they sat like that for a while. It was probably five minutes, but to Michael it felt like an hour of trying to stay grounded and not fly off the handle again. The two men ended up just laying on the couch, Michael with his left ear and right hand pressed against Rich’s chest. One might have considered this a little bit gay, but Michael was too tired to give any fucks. 

He felt his consciousness drift as Rich lazily ran his fingers through his hair. “Rich?” he murmured. 

“Yeah, bud?” Rich responded, keeping his gaze fixed on his phone. “Thanks.” “Ain’t no skin off my back, Michael.” Rich slurred, speaking to Michael but also texting the group. Michael furrowed his brows a bit, feeling a little bit left out, and pulled out his own phone.

PickleRich: michael had a panic attack. really bad one.  
ValentinaRina: is he okay?  
PickleRich: he’s fine now, just kinda lying on top of me  
Brooke: And here we see the rare soft boy Rich in his natural habitat

RickRol’d: *camera snaps*  
PickleRich: yeah okay, next time any of you are in deep shit im gonna be elsewhere  
ClosetedHamiltonTrash: You’re a good friend, Rich. It’s nice of you to support Michael like this.

PickleRich: i’ve known the guy for 15 years christine i can’t leave my bro hanging like that

PickleRich: also you’re off my shitlist  
ClosetedHamiltonTrash: Yes! >:)

MichaelwithaB: clever girl…

Michael felt Rich shift his arm a bit to peer over at him. “When’d you get your phone out?” he squinted slightly. “A magician never reveals his secrets, Rich~.” Michael teased. “Yeah, well, 'Mr. Magician’” Rich made air quotes with his free hand. "is draped over me like a sloth, so as your honorary pillow I demand you bestow upon me this information.” Rich ordered his subject. “No.” said Michael. “Fair enough.” Rich shrugged and went back to texting, so Michael did the same thing.

ClosetedHamiltonTrash: Hey, Michael! You doing okay? :0  
MichaelwithaB: yeah im good christine. just tired  
PickleRich: aww does the sloth need a nap  
MichaelwithaB: watch yourself u pickle  
PickleRich: that’s my name, don’t wear it out

MichaelwithaB: but yeah a nap actually sounds p good right about now  
ValentinaRina: feel better soon michael!  
MichaelwithaB: idk chlo might just make myself miserable to keep you from having company ; )  
ValentinaRina: >:0 rude.

MichaelwithaB: later yall

With a sigh, Michael clicked off his phone and sat up on the couch. He felt a stretch tremble through his body as he raised his arms up. “You need some help?” Rich offered. “I can walk myself to bed, Rich.” Michael declined. “All right.” Rich shrugged as he watched Michael jog up the stairs in that way that he always did. “Hey, Michael, wait.” He called out. Michael paused and leaned down at the second flight leading to the upstairs. 

“…I’ll pick up some more T for you when I have the chance.” Michael felt his eyes fly open. “W-What? Rich, no, you can’t-“ 

“It’s no big deal, Michael.” Rich intervened. “I know how much you need and what kind you need and I have an excuse-slash-slip to buy it for you, so-“ “No, I…I mean, you can’t…You can’t just…that’s a lot of money, Rich, are you…?” “Michael.” Rich reached his arm up to rest on Michael’s shoulders. “You’re my best friend. I know you, and I know how much you need this. You have to let me spend a little money on you, dude.”

“But—“ Michael objected. “No buts.” Rich stood his ground. “You can ask me for help if you absolutely need it, and I’ll come running. Hell, you can ask a n y of us to help you. That’s what friends are for, man.” There was silence before Rich was pulled into a hug. “Thank you,” Michael murmured. The two stayed like that for a few seconds. “Um…Michael. Can you let me go?” “No.” Michael pulled him in tighter. “Michael, if you want your T you’re gonna have to let me go eventually.” Rich struggled. “The T can wait. I am in need of more emotional support.” “Michaeeelll…” Rich’s tone had an warning to it. “Fiiiiine.” Michael whined, releasing him. “Thank you~.” Rich responded to Michael’s pout with a smug grin. He left with a wave. 

“Later, dude!” “Later!” Michael waved back at the shut door in front of him. He watched Rich disappear up the path back into the heart of the town, and sighed. He headed up to his bedroom, the soft, familiar feel of the wooly floor beneath his bare feet was comforting, and collapsed on his bed, not bothering to cover himself up before he drifted off to sleep. Today wasn’t too bad after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I TRIED TO EDIT THE TEXT IN RICH TEXT BUT THAT FUCKED UP MY DESCRIPTION SO I GUESS IM RETYPING IT UGH
> 
> i actually had a lot of fun writing this chapter!! i just tried using my experiences with a panic attack so idk how accurate this is wo ops. also it was gonna be a lot longer but i thought itd be fine where i left it off so here you are
> 
> also i keep forgetting to put my tumblr url here in case yall wanna hmu >:/ forgive me for that  
> @gale4ardy  
> see you there hopefully!!


	8. Part Zero

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rich and Jeremy meet and beach antics ensue.

Four days. 

Jeremy had waited four days in a row, patiently, for Michael to come back. The first day wasn’t too bad. If Michael was mad, then it might be understandable he wouldn’t show up. The second day was where things got a little out of hand. People had been showing up to The Place Where Michael Disappeared more often and Jeremy didn’t like it. If Michael was still in there, Jeremy should be in there with him! But he just let himself silently wait it out. Day Three. Still no Michael. This was infuriating, to say the least. Where was he? Where was Michael? Jeremy spent most of that day just waiting and watching and pondering if he should just give up. Then came the fourth day. Jeremy was awoken by something, or someone, poking him in the side. 

As he stretched up with a yawn, his ear fins twitching, he looked to see what had roused him from his slumber. 

Another human. Jeremy recognized this one. This was the one who took Michael into that place. Maybe he knew where he was? “Mrri...curr?” Jeremy had been practicing while Michael was away. He had gotten a lot better now and wanted to show him. Maybe he’d be really proud of him! 

The human was still for a moment before they shook their head. Okay, maybe he should be more specific. “Wherre Mrrirrkrr?” Jeremy asked again. The human pointed to the large place. Right. He knew that. Well. He wasn’t the first mermaid on land, but he was probably the last. 

He slowly dragged himself on the sand, uncomfortable at how it felt on his body. He had felt sand before, obviously, but that was underwater sand. This sand was just. Wet. And it stuck onto his blubber in gritty little bits. Unpleasant. So unpleasant. He was stopped short by the human who had woken him. “Hey! You can’t go in there!” He shouted. Jeremy flinched. This human was loud. “Whhrryyyyyyy?” Jeremy asked, the dolphin trill seeping into his voice. 

“B-Because-“ the human sighed. “Because he’s not home! You can’t just go into someone’s house when they’re not there!” “...oh.” Jeremy said, not really getting it. “So, uh...you should probably get going.” He said. Now, normally, he would have obliged. But considering that he had not been seeing his first and only friend in days, it was understandable that his attitude had changed, and he gave the human a stubborn pout. “...did you hear me? I said go.” Jeremy’s face didn’t change. The human face palmed, very clearly annoyed with Jeremy’s resistance.

“Look, I know you can understand me. We’re talking. So, go. Shoo.” The human made a ‘go away’ motion with his hands accompanied by a whistle. 

Instead of obeying, like any sane animal, Jeremy ignored him and headed for Michael’s “house” once again.

“Hey. Hey! I said you can’t-“ The human’s attempts to step in front of and stop Jeremy were futile as he kept scooting around him. “I said.” The human went behind him. “you can’t” his hands reached out. “go” grabbed Jeremy’s tail “in there!” And started pulling him back. Jeremy let out a hiss of pain and struggled, catching the human on the side of his face. It stunned him just long enough for Jeremy to wiggle away and check over his tail for injuries. 

When he found none, he glared at the human with an indignant growl, piercing blue eyes staring into furious brown ones. “Okay.” The human huffed. “I can see this isn’t gonna be easy.”

Damn right it won’t. Jeremy thought back to him. The human sighed and clapped his hands together, which made Jeremy flinch again. “Right. So, seeing as we both…know Michael, we might as well introduce ourselves. My name is Rich.” Jeremy let out a scoff. NOW he was trying to be friendly? 

He continued to stare at him, bitterness clouding his judgement. “…what, do you not have a name or something?” Jeremy fumbled for an answer to give him. What was the word…oh, right! “Yeh-rrshh.” He slurred it out. “…can you tell me it?” “No.” Jeremy swung his head around in an act of immature stubbornness. He heard the human, Rich, huff again, which he considered a win. “Dude, come on. I’m at least making an effort to be friendly.” Jeremy held up his tail and hissed, the message very clear. “Oh. Is that…a rude thing to do?” Rich asked, confused. Jeremy stared at him like he had just grown a second head. “YESH!!” he screeched, exasperated. Rich flinched, startled. “Okay, okay, I’m sorry! Geez…” The sound of something creaking open was heard and Jeremy looked behind him to see… “Hey, what’s all the ruckus for?”

“Mrrirrkrr!” Jeremy’s eyes lit up with the little trill he made and he start making his way towards his best friend. “Jeremy?” Michael tilted his head, furrowing his eyebrow in confusion. He spotted Rich and panicked. “…uhhhhhh…I mean. Random fish dude that I have definitely never seen before! What are you doing here?” “It’s okay, Mike.” Rich grumbled, turning his head to show Michael the long, red, "beauty mark” Jeremy had given him. “We’ve met.” He threw Jeremy a glare, who shamelessly returned it. Michael raised his eyebrows. “Yikes.” he turned to fix the mermaid with a stern glare. “Jeremy. Did you do that?” Jeremy’s glare softened underneath Michael’s and her turned away guiltily, but not shamelessly.

Michael rubbed his temples. “Apologize.” Jeremy looked up at him incredulously, like he had just asked him to cut off his own ears and eat them.

“Go on.” Michael didn’t change his tone, and put his hands on his hips. Jeremy’s maw hung open in disbelief. He couldn’t be serious. Him? HIM apologize?! He didn’t even do anything wrong! He let out a frustrated huff. Michael clearly wasn’t going to let this go. He scooted towards Rich and looked up at him, anger still evident in his blue gaze. “…’m srry.” He mumbled out. Rich sighed. “I’m sorry, too. It wasn’t cool of me to pull on your tail like that.” He held out his hand towards Jeremy. “We good?”

Jeremy blinked and stared up at Rich, confused. He turned to Michael, who let out an amused chuckle, for assistance. “Shake his hand.” He replied. Jeremy turned back and glanced at his own hand, unsure. He took Rich’s and he shook it up and down. He turned back to Michael, even more confused. What did he just do.

Did he agree to settle a peace treaty? Was there a fight arranged? DID HE TAKE HIS HAND IN MARRIAGE???? He stared around in panic before noticing something in the sand. Something…green. Jeremy tilted his head. Seaweed? On land? …no. It couldn’t have been. It was too clear and too…shiny. He shifted over to it, curiosity getting the better of him and sniffed. It smelled like Rich. He glanced over. He must have dropped it. He and Michael were talking and were glancing over at him occasionally. Jeremy let out a small sneeze. They could gossip if they wanted. HE was busy exploring. Jeremy picked up the smooth, green thing, whatever it was.

There was…something inside? Water? Why was water in something like…this?? Jeremy’s head tilted this way and that as he studied how to open this “whatever”.

He held the Whatever in his hand and gnawed at the top of it. He heard Michael gasp and then scream “JEREMY, NO!” Uh-oh. Time to skedaddle. He stuffed the Whatever into his mouth and started moving along the sand as fast he could. He came to a halt when he was stopped. “Jeremy. Give me the bottle.” He blinked before realizing he meant the Whatever he was holding. A bottle, huh? …well, too bad. Jeremy wants, Jeremy gots. He spat the bottle out into his hand and stared up at Michael briefly before shouting out a very loud and clear “…No!” He ignored the indignant sputter and stuffed the bottle back in his mouth, scurrying along the sand. He heard Rich laughing as he ran past him and into the ocean. He hissed at the two before gnawing at the top again. Michael had both of his hands in his hair, and did not look happy. Not one bit.

He ignored their shouting and managed to bite an opening into the bottle. Ah-hah! He held the green close to his face and sniffed. He sneezed again. What was that?! It sure was strong. Jeremy started licking it, much to the vocal displeasure of his human friend, and promptly turned around to ignore him. He lapped at the bottle until the water entered his mouth. …this is not water. This is nOT WATER THIS IS GROSS. Jeremy spat out the fizzy water, feeling his tongue go numb and flung it on shore, managing to hit Rich squarely in the head. Jeremy swam back over to the pair, mostly to voice his displeasure. Michael rubbed his face. “Good lord…” he sighed.

“Gross.” Jeremy huffed simply, glaring at the green bottle. Rich was examining it with a pout. “Fuck, I was saving this for later.” “Hey, watch your mouth.” Michael warned before glancing down at Jeremy. “Well? You learn anything from that?” 

Jeremy rolled his eyes and opened his mouth to speak, but only heard three words before the pain came.

Target Male: Inaccessible.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WHOOOOOOOOOO BOY  
> IM SO SORRY YALL I PROMISE THIS FIC ISNT DEAD  
> MY ANXIETY(TM) HAS BEEN PREVENTING ME FROM WORKING ON IT AND ALSO DEMOTIVATION  
> I LOVE THIS FIC WITH MY FUCKING HEART AND SOUL AND ALSO LIFE HAS BEEN REALLY CRAZY  
> IM SO SORRY YALL. IM SO SORRY MY UGLY BITCH ASS WOULD KEEP YALL WAITIN THIS LONG IM SO SORRY  
> also thinking of starting another fic alongside this one but i aLREADY HAVE ENOUGH PROJECTS GOING ON  
> ok thanks for coming to my ted talk and aLSO HAPPY SPOOK MONTH


	9. Rescue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jeremy recovers from his seizure. Somewhat. Rich helps.

Michael expects simplicity. Michael expects to live out his days in his wacky beach house with his wacky friends and eventually climb up the chain from Loserville to total BAMF. Get rich, find a nice guy, maybe a few kids, whatever it takes. Michael does not expect to find a mermaid and become friends with it. Michael also does not expect to get attached to such a thing so quickly, and vice versa. But least of all, Michael does not expect said mermaid to steal a bottle of Mountain Dew and begin having a seizure on sight.

Rich is freaking out, which does nothing to help. Michael is freaking out, too, but it’s in a more subtle and quiet way. It’s in his brain.

“WHAT THE FUCK????” Rich says, and then he says it again, and again and oh, my God, can he shut the hell up this isn’t solving anything. And then, just as suddenly as it came, it stops, and Jeremy sits up, wide-eyed and shaky. 

“…Jeremy?” Michael says quietly, and it’s enough to get his attention. His blue eyes flash with recognition and the tension leaves his shoulders a little. “M-Mrrrrichrrrr…” he stutters out, ear fins drooping a little. 

He’s just as scared as us, Michael realized. 

“Dude…” Rich whispered out. “What was that?"

“D-Durrnno-“ Jeremy started to say, but cut himself off and suddenly glanced around him, a startled expression worn on his face.

“Jeremy? What’s wrong?” Michael asked. Jeremy turned back to him, wildly shaking his head. 

“Durrnno, durrnno…h-hrrrearrr srrm-“ He started to shake his head, and he kept shaking it, until Michael kneeled down and rested his hand on his shoulder. 

“Okay, Jere, I need you to stay calm. Stay calm, okay?” Michael encouraged, staring him in the eyes. 

Jeremy opened his mouth to object, but paused, and then nodded, like he had been reset. “K-Krrray…”

Michael nodded. “Okay. Do you wanna…stay at my place for a little? Unwind and chill?” Jeremy cocked his head a little, confused. 

“Ch-Chrrr?” he rolled the “L’s” on his tongue, unfamiliar with the word, which made Michael’s heart do an unexpected little hop. 

“Yeah, to just, y’know, relax, and recover until you’re sure you’re good to go back home.” 

Jeremy looked back at the ocean thoughtfully.

“…does that sound good to you, buddy?” Michael offered again. 

Jeremy looked back at him, eyes a little less wide, but were now filled with worry and anguish. “F-Frra…” he murmured out, biting his lip. 

Michael followed his gaze. “...’fra’?” he echoed. 

Jeremy stared back up at him, trembling. “F-Frra...wrrarrrr-” He decided to give up with an upset huff, seeing as he was now having difficulty forming words he didn’t know yet.

Well, in the human language, that was.

“Okay, how about this: I’ll take you to my house, you can calm down, and I’ll keep a lookout for...whoever Fra is, all right?” Michael offered.

He didn’t make any move to pick Jeremy up until he gave his nod of agreement. “Krrr…” “Okay.” Michael responded. 

He slid his hands underneath the mermaid, who was surprisingly light, and headed back to his house, silent Rich in tow.

“Okay, um...okay,” Michael said, after setting Jeremy down on his couch. “Okay, uh-”

“Mike?” Rich finally spoke up, staring with wide eyes. 

“Yeah? What’s up?” 

“Can I have a word with you?” He asked, glancing at Jeremy. “Alone?” 

Michael blinked, coming to the realization that Rich probably had zero idea what the hell was going on. “Uh...yeah, sure.” he said, smiling reassuredly at Jeremy, “We’ll be right back, okay?” who nodded as the two went off on their way.

“Okay,” Michael started, when they were in a hall separate from Jeremy’s ears. Fins? Earfins. “I know you probably have no idea what just happened-”

“Damn right.” Rich interrupted, with a light scoff. 

“...and I’ll be honest with you, I don’t know, either.” Michael finished after a brief pause. 

“Oh, great.” Rich threw his head back, murmuring annoyedly under his breath. “Okay, well, can you fill me in on all that’s gone down, at least?” 

“I’ve been trying to teach him English for three days. That’s about it.” 

“That’s it?” 

“I don’t know-I legit don’t know what else to tell you.”

Rich sighed, rubbing his face and muttering under his breath. “Michaeell...what the hell have you gotten yourself into?”

“Sorry; befriending a mermaid wasn’t exactly on my resume.” Michael snapped a little.

Rich let out a huff, half-amused, half-annoyed. “Okay, well, now that you’re friends with a possibly..seizure-induced siren...what do you plan to do with it?” 

Michael opened his mouth to snap again, to say that Jeremy was n o t an it, but then Rich’s question actually registered. What was he gonna do with him? Both men peered out to see what Jeremy was doing, and apparently, he had done the same, because they were greeted with a startled expression, and a jerky movement to turn his head back around like he hadn’t been trying to eavesdrop.

“...was it trying to listen in?” Rich raised an eyebrow.

“I mean, can you blame him? He has no idea where he is, and everything here is so...virtually new to him.” Michael reasoned sympathetically. 

“...so...question still stands.” Rich said again. “What are you gonna do with it?”

“Okay, first of all, stop calling him an ‘it’. He’s not a computer.” Michael huffed. “Second of all...I don’t...know if I should just...throw him back into the ocean after that. He might just...drown.”

“...y...you’re worried a mermaid is going to drown?” Rich raised an eyebrow and cocked his head forward a little. “In the ocean?????”

“With what we just saw, yes, I am!” Michael defended himself, resting his hands on his hips. Rich looked at him incredulously. 

“That’s like saying you’re worried a duck will forget how to fly because it got plastic stuck on its wing.” Rich pointed out.

“Okay, first of all, don’t even joke about that.” Michael stuck a finger in Rich’s direction, who swatted it down with a muttered, “Don’t point at me.” “Second of all, he’s a mermaid. That’s half human, half...fish. Thing. We don’t know how their biology works!” “I assume like any other fish, in that he won’t drown!” Rich argued back. “M-Mrrirrkrrr!” Said mermaid’s voice suddenly sounded from the living room, raspy.

The two headed back to Jeremy, who...wasn’t looking so good. His body was shaking and he was pale in the face.

“Dude?” Michael’s eyebrows furrowed with concern as he kneeled down in front of him. “What’s wrong?” “W...Wrrrrrttrrr…” Jeremy croaked out, his hands shaking. ...wrrtrr? What did that...oh. Oh! Water! The realization hit Michael like a truck and he instantly stood up. “He needs water!” he alerted Rich.

“Oh. Shit, uh...d-does it have to be a specific kind of water?” Rich asked, posture panicked. “I really don’t think so, uh...j-just fill a glass from the tap, that might work.” Michael gently rubbed Jeremy’s shoulders as the shorter man headed for the kitchen, turning the tap on. Jeremy’s earfins perked up at the sound of running water. “It’s okay, buddy…” he soothed him. “It’s okay. Rich is getting you some water to help you feel better, all right?”

The words seemed to calm Jeremy down, but he didn’t seem get better in any other way.

“Okay, okay, okay, I got it, I got it, I got it.” Rich muttered the mantras under his breath as he hurried back to the couch. Michael nodded with a soft “Thanks, man” and let Jeremy drink from the cup. He could do that much at least. Within a few seconds or so, the color returned to his face, and he looked much better.

“Okay, there we go…” Michael soothed, rubbing his shoulder. “You feel better, dude?” Jeremy glanced over, eyes half-open, with a nod, and let out a toothy yawn. Of course, he must have been tired. It was a lot to go through in one day. “Tired, I guess…” Michael sighed, glancing at Rich. “I’m taking Jeremy up to the guest bedroom.” 

“Oh! Uh...okay.” Rich said, standing up. “Uh...I guess I’ll head out, then.”

“Oh, you sure? You can stay if you want, man.” Michael tilted his head. “Yeah, yeah, I’m sure.” Rich responded, his gaze darkening. “I should get home anyway. My...my old man’s expecting me.” Michael tensed up at that. Ah. Right. That Guy That We Do Not Talk About. “...all right, dude. Just...stay safe. Okay?” “I will. Later, dude!” Rich nodded, like there was nothing going on behind that tooth-gapped smile.

“...later…” Michael said to the door, hoping that Rich really would stay safe. “...Mrrirrkrr…?” Jeremy said after a long beat of silence, yawning again. Michael shook his head, trying to get himself out of that worrywart funk. “Sorry, dude. I’m okay. Let’s get you to bed, all right?” The two of them headed up the stairs, and into the guest bedroom.

“Okay, here you go, bud.” Michael gently set Jeremy, who looked thoroughly confused as to what was happening, on the bed. “Get some rest, okay? You’ve had a long day.” Jeremy’s eyes shifted around, before landing on him, as if to ask ‘What am I supposed to do?’ 

“...ah. Um...i-it’s-this is a bed. You, um...you sleep on it.” Michael started, because Of course he wouldn’t know what a bed is, you Clod. Jeremy seemed to understand that, because his eyes lit up at the word Sleep. It was either that, or he just was relieved he’d be able to rest. He curled up on the blanket, similar to a cat or dog, and the minute his head hit the mattress, he was out.

...wow. He must have...really been tired.

The day dragged on, long into the night. The whole time, Michael had been by Jeremy’s side, watching him for any signs of vulnerability, or if he needed any water to help him along through his rest. When he wasn’t awake, or needing help, Michael was studying him, warm, brown eyes dancing along the freckles patterned along the pale body resting in the bedsheets. 

Sometimes, he’d try to see if he could connect them, and make little freckle constellations. It was a good way to pass the time. The night eventually took the last of his consciousness, and he fell asleep, head cradled in his arms.

Had he been able to stay awake, he wouldn’t have missed the movements and soft cries Jeremy made in his sleep. They almost seemed…

...painful.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AAAAAAAAHAHA YOU THOUGHT THIS WAS DEAD HUH  
> NAH IVE JUST BEEN BUSY AND ALSO KINDA LACKING THE MOTIVATION TO WRITE THIS  
> BUT IM STILL VERY MUCH INVESTED IN IT AND I INTEND TO FINISH IT  
> TY TO THOSE OF YALL THAT ARE STILL READING AND IM SORRY I TOOK THIS LONG TO GIVE YALL ANOTHER CHAPTER


End file.
